Beruflich Dokumente
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health, safety and welfare. Their actions have psychologically scarred and traumatized the children, who were witness and exposed to
such a violent demonstration of Man's inhumanity to man.
MR was denied.
ISSUES:
Whether or not the public respondent has jurisdiction:
a) to investigate the alleged violations of the "business rights" of the private respondents whose stalls were demolished by the
petitioners at the instance and authority given by the Mayor of Quezon City;
b) to impose the fine of P500.00 each on the petitioners; and
c) to disburse the amount of P200,000.00 as financial aid to the vendors affected by the demolition.
HELD:
the writ prayed for in this petition is GRANTED. The Commission on Human Rights is hereby prohibited from further proceeding with
CHR Case No. 90-1580 and from implementing the P500.00 fine for contempt. The temporary restraining order heretofore issued by
this Court is made permanent
The Commission on Human Rights was created by the 1987 Constitution. 19 It was formally constituted by then President Corazon
Aquino via Executive Order No. 163, 20 issued on 5 May 1987, in the exercise of her legislative power at the time. It succeeded, but so
superseded as well, the Presidential Committee on Human Rights
CHR theorizes that the intention of the members of the Constitutional Commission is to make CHR a quasi-judicial body. 23 This
view, however, has not heretofore been shared by this Court. In Cario v. Commission on Human Rights, 24 the Court, through then
Associate Justice, now Chief Justice Andres Narvasa, has observed that it is "only the first of the enumerated powers and functions
that bears any resemblance to adjudication or adjudgment," but that resemblance can in no way be synonymous to the adjudicatory
power itself. The Court explained:
. . . (T)he Commission on Human Rights . . . was not meant by the fundamental law to be another court or quasi-judicial agency in this
country, or duplicate much less take over the functions of the latter.
The most that may be conceded to the Commission in the way of adjudicative power is that it may investigate, i.e., receive evidence
and make findings of fact as regards claimed human rights violations involving civil and political rights. But fact finding is not
adjudication, and cannot be likened to the judicial function of a court of justice, or even a quasi-judicial agency or official. The
function of receiving evidence and ascertaining therefrom the facts of a controversy is not a judicial function, properly speaking. To be
considered such, the faculty of receiving evidence and making factual conclusions in a controversy must be accompanied by the
authority of applying the law to those factual conclusions to the end that the controversy may be decided or determined
authoritatively, finally and definitively, subject to such appeals or modes of review as may be provided by law. This function, to
repeat, the Commission does not have.
What then is the extent of CHR's power?
It can hardly be disputed that the phrase "human rights" is so generic a term that any attempt to define it, albeit not a few have tried,
could at best be described as inconclusive.
MR. GARCIA. Actually, these civil and political rights have been made clear in the language of human rights advocates, as well as in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which addresses a number of articles on the right to life, the right against torture, the right
to fair and public hearing, and so on. These are very specific rights that are considered enshrined in many international documents and
legal instruments as constituting civil and political rights, and these are precisely what we want to defend here.
MR. BENGZON. So, would the commissioner say civil and political rights as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
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MR. GARCIA. Yes, and as I have mentioned, the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights distinguished this right against
torture.
x---x
MR. BENGZON. Then, I go back to that question that I had. Therefore, what we are really trying to say is, perhaps, at the proper time
we could specify all those rights stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and defined as human rights. Those are the
rights that we envision here?
MR. GARCIA. Yes. In fact, they are also enshrined in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution. They are integral parts of that.
MR. BENGZON. Therefore, is the Gentleman saying that all the rights under the Bill of Rights covered by human rights?
MR. GARCIA. No, only those that pertain to civil and political rights.
x---x
MR. GARCIA. I would like to continue and respond also to repeated points raised by the previous speaker.
There are actually six areas where this Commission on Human Rights could act effectively: 1) protection of rights of political
detainees; 2) treatment of prisoners and the prevention of tortures; 3) fair and public trials; 4) cases of disappearances; 5) salvagings
and hamletting; and 6) other crimes committed against the religious.
MR. GARCIA. Madam President, I have to repeat the various specific civil and political rights that we felt must be envisioned initially
by this provision freedom from political detention and arrest prevention of torture, right to fair and public trials, as well as crimes
involving disappearance, salvagings, hamlettings and collective violations. So, it is limited to politically related crimes precisely to
protect the civil and political rights of a specific group of individuals, and therefore, we are not opening it up to all of the definite
areas.
MR. GUINGONA. Correct. Therefore, just for the record, the Gentlemen is no longer linking his concept or the concept of the
Committee on Human Rights with the so-called civil or political rights as contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
MR. GUINGONA. Madam President, I am not even clear as to the distinction between civil and social rights.
MR. GARCIA. There are two international covenants: the International Covenant and Civil and Political Rights and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The second covenant contains all the different rights-the rights of labor to
organize, the right to education, housing, shelter, et cetera.
MR. GUINGONA. So we are just limiting at the moment the sense of the committee to those that the Gentlemen has specified.
MR. GARCIA. Yes, to civil and political rights.
The term "civil rights," 31 has been defined as referring
(t)o those (rights) that belong to every citizen of the state or country, or, in wider sense, to all its inhabitants, and are not connected
with the organization or administration of the government. They include the rights of property, marriage, equal protection of the laws,
freedom of contract, etc. Or, as otherwise defined civil rights are rights appertaining to a person by virtue of his citizenship in a state
or community. Such term may also refer, in its general sense, to rights capable of being enforced or redressed in a civil action.
Also quite often mentioned are the guarantees against involuntary servitude, religious persecution, unreasonable searches and seizures,
and imprisonment for debt. 32
Political rights, 33 on the other hand, are said to refer to the right to participate, directly or indirectly, in the establishment or
administration of government, the right of suffrage, the right to hold public office, the right of petition and, in general, the rights
appurtenant to citizenship vis-a-vis the management of government.
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